Title: She's Finally Safe and Sound
Author: CJ aka WritinginCT
Fandom: NCIS/Stargate
Pairing: Jack/Daniel, Sam/Tony, Gibbs/OFC
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mentions of child abuse, Set during Daniel's ascension (and return)
Categories: Drama, angst, h/c, romance, AU
Feedback: Love it? Hate it?
Disclaimer: I don’t own the recognizable characters I’m just inspired by them. Hopefully they’ve had fun playing in my sandbox.
Summary: An abused little girl is found by NCIS, the surprise revelation of who her father is brings a still grieving SG-1 to Washington to claim her.
Status: WIP
A/N: In this AU, we're starting out in SG-1 season 6 and NCIS season 2 (I know the mash up isn't exact, but it IS an AU so please bear with me). And in this AU Daniel did not spend a year on Abydos married to Sha're.

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Daniel kept feeling a pull, like something in his peripheral vision, that niggled and nagged at him every time he visited Earth. At first he thought it was his SG-1 teammates. But that wasn't it. He visited them unaware often, just to check up on them. Jack especially. The pain of leaving Jack cut through him like a razor. But even that wasn't what was pulling him.

Finally he just gave in to the pull and let it drag him where it may. It turned out to be Washington, D.C. that was calling him. And as he floated here and there he thought about the last time he had been in Washington for fun. It had been for a symposium at the Smithsonian. He smiled, remembering both the symposium and the beautiful Georgetown student named Elizabeth that he had ended up spending the weekend with. But that was before his credibility was in tatters, before the Stargate program, before Jack, and before he ascended. It seemed like a lifetime ago.

The pull was stronger now and he found himself in a violent part of town, this weird radar of his pulling him towards a dirty, run-down tenement building. Inside he went, the despair and desperation rolling off the residents in waves. A particular apartment called to him and he went inside. The place was filthy, and there were used needles and drug paraphernalia all around. He heard the sounds of sex and focused his attention to a bed tucked in the corner of what was supposed to be the living room. His shock and surprise knew no bounds; it was Elizabeth, the Georgetown student he had met almost six years ago. But how she had changed. Dirty and beragged, he could see the track marks on her arms. And moments after the man grunted on top of her, he climbed out of the bed and threw a packet of white powder on the nightstand. She was prostituting herself for drugs.

Although there was a pull towards her, he found himself instead strongly drawn down the hallway to a closed door. His heart broke the minute he entered the room. For there, trying to hide in a corner was a little girl with her face tucked against her bent knees, and hands over her ears so she didn't have to hear what was going on in the other room.

She was tiny, so very tiny, Daniel thought, about five years old or so. And dirty, and skinny. And he just wanted to scoop her up and take her someplace safe. But just when he thought he couldn't be anymore surprised, the little girl lifted her head and he found himself staring at his own eyes. Eyes haunted by things no child should ever have seen.

The realization sent him reeling. He had a daughter.

He had to get her out of here. But how? The others absolutely would not let him interfere. Even for his own daughter.

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As fate would have it, he didn't have to get her out of there. Circumstance managed it for him.

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“Grab your gear. We've got a report of a dead sailor.” Gibbs barked out as he slipped his Sig on his belt and grabbed the coffee off his desk. Tony, Kate, and McGee were quick to follow him to the elevator.

As they pulled up to the apartment house that had seen better days, Tony said, “Rough part of town, Boss. Any word on why our sailor was here?”

“According to the uniforms, the woman whose apartment he was found in is a known prostitute.”

“Ahh.” was Tony's only reply.

They entered the filthy apartment to find their dead sailor, still in uniform, along with a dead woman whose clothing and makeup suggest that she was the prostitute the local police had made mention of previously. Both had been shot by a small caliber weapon, for reasons unknown.

They all surveyed the scene with distaste and Gibbs ordered, “Tony, you take the far rooms. Kate, photos. McGee, measure and sketch. And everybody be careful. There are needles everywhere. Got it?”

Tony shook his head somberly; this wasn't his first time in a place like this. He headed for the far room to start looking for evidence. He noted the lock on the outside of the bedroom door which made the hairs on his neck stand up a little. He unconsciously had his hand on his weapon as he entered the room. It was just as filthy as the rest of the apartment. A bare mattress on the floor in the corner the only furniture. The smell of excrement and urine assaulted his nose. What disturbed him the most was that there were children's toys in the room, and dirty plastic plates and cups. He sent up a silent prayer that he was wrong, but he suspected that a child had been locked in this room. His stomach churned from the smell and the horrific thought as he looked around. He didn't see anything useful in the room itself and gently opened the closet.

The local police had cleared the apartment so Tony wasn't expecting to find anyone in the closet. And at first glance all he saw was a huge mound of disgusting laundry and bric a brac. But he did see a worn stuffed rabbit on the outside of the pile that seemed out of place. He didn't think twice about it really, and turned to go back to the living room when an errant breeze seemed to blow past him and it ruffled the fur on the rabbit. For some reason Tony felt compelled to stoop down and pick up the rabbit. And when he did he heard a muffled sob coming from the pile of laundry.

Tony was not a particularly devout man, but he sent up another silent prayer, hoping against hope that he was wrong. But when he looked towards the pile he spied a peep hole where a little pair of terrified blue eyes were watching him. He tried to put a calm comforting look on his face and said softly, “Hi, my name's Tony. I'm a policeman. What's your name?”

When he didn't get an answer he asked, “Is this your bunny? What's his name?”

The silence from the pile screamed volumes to Tony about how afraid the child hiding was, so he sat down cross legged and had a talk with the rabbit, “You are really a good looking rabbit. That blue fur and long ears, I bet you're Bugs Bunny's brother.” He rambled on and on, hoping to coax the child out. Another odd breeze blew through and Tony could swear he heard someone say, “Its okay. Go with him.”

A moment later a dirty little girl launched out of the pile to cling to Tony and not let go.

He managed to discern that the child was in fact a little girl with gritty, long, sandy brown hair. She had wrapped her little arms around his neck tightly and he could feel her shaking in fear. He gently stroked her back and whispered, “You're gonna be okay now. I promise. Everything's gonna be okay.”

He managed to make it to his feet with her still attached to his neck, her little face tucked between his collar shirt and his skin; he could feel her button nose butting up against him and her warm breath. He had the forethought to grab the stuffed rabbit and he walked out into the hallway. Gibbs saw him and quickly went to Tony's side.

Gibbs asked quietly, “Hey, who's your friend Tony?”

Tony replied lightly, “I don't know, Boss, she was hiding in the closet.”

“Why don't you let me take her, get her out of here?.”

The little bundle in Tony's arms whimpered and squeezed tighter. “Might be better if I take her out, Boss.”

“Yeah.” Gibbs shrugged off his NCIS windbreaker and draped it over the girl, hoping to shield her from the view in the living room.

Tony quickly exited the apartment and made his way down to the NCIS van. Gibbs flipped open his phone and called dispatch, asking to have Child Services sent out immediately along with an ambulance.

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tbc...

Tony climbed into the back of the van with the little girl and grabbed a blanket from one of the cabinets. He tucked it around her all the while talking softly, just whispering nonsensical things. The child didn't say anything, and wouldn't respond to any of his questions, but she did loosen her grip on Tony a bit although she did lie against his chest heavily just listening to the even cadence of his voice.

Finally he realized that she had quite contently fallen asleep on him, his shirt clutched tightly in her little fist. He just held her and promised both her and himself that she would be safe from now on, that no one would abuse her again.

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A half hour later Gibbs stuck his head in the back of the van to see Tony cradling the little girl and rocking her gently. He might be a big kid most of the time but Tony really did have a gentle nature that would sneak out on him every once and a while. Their eyes met over the little girl and Gibbs whispered, “Social services is on the way. I'll let you know when they get here.” Tony just nodded, his attention refocusing on the little person he was holding.

Gibbs was the phone with Director Morrow giving him an update when a government issue sedan pulled up and a tired and frazzled looking brunette got out. He finished up with the Director and walked over to her. She was digging in a plastic tote in the trunk, and from her look of exasperation, wasn't finding what she was looking for, Gibbs choose that moment to introduce himself, “Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS.”

She flashed her id on autopilot and said, “Leslie Olsen, Social Services.” and went back to rooting through the bin. She finally just dropped her head and whispered, “Damn it.” under her breath.

“Lose something?” Gibbs quipped with a little smirk. Although obviously tired and frazzled, she was pretty and he was interested in getting her to say more than her name, rank and serial number.

She met his eyes and sighed, “Ever have one of those weeks where absolutely nothing goes right?”

He chuckled, “About once a month. Something I can help with?”

“I'm out of gloves.”

“Gloves I can handle.” He said and handed her a pair from his pocket.

She closed the trunk, “Thanks. This is my third call today. I just haven't had a chance to regroup.”

“You guys that busy?”

“I'm sure you've heard about the union strike?”

“Yeah, week two isn't it?”

“Yep, and I'm a supervisor, who is right now handling all the critical calls while the normal social workers are on strike. It's been more than a little nutty.”

“Sorry. That can't be easy.”

“No, it's not. But anyway, the kids come first. So what do we have here?”

Gibbs explained the situation and she listened and took careful notes. “So the little girl is safe at this particular moment?”

“She's sound asleep with a death grip on one of my agents, if that's what you mean.”

“Yes. I need to do a quick walk through of the apartment to document the conditions. Am I able to do that now?”

“Sure. My M.E. was just bagging up the victims for transport. I'll walk you through the scene myself, Ms. Olsen.”

They went up and Gibbs saw her take a deep breath before they went into the apartment. With a grim look on her face she went room to room, opening cupboards to look for food only to find more filth and drug paraphernalia. She took particular care to document the room that the little girl had been locked in, sketching things and poking through the pile of debris in the closet that the child had hidden in.

Gibbs had left her to do her job. But finally stuck his head in the room to see if she needed anything. He wasn't prepared to see her standing there with a silent tear running down her cheek. He stepped close to her and put a caring hand on her shoulder. Embarrassed, she hastily wiped her face and apologized, “Sorry.”

Gibbs said what he hoped would be the right thing, “She's safe now.”

She studied his face for a long moment, seeing the compassion in his eyes. He was an incredibly handsome man, strong, solid, and she wanted to just fall into his pale blue eyes.

A little breeze blew through the room, and Leslie could almost swear that there was a presence in it. But she didn't say anything about it, instead just answered Gibbs, “Yes, she is.”

They went back into the living room and Leslie spied something. She asked Gibbs “Is it okay if I move this?” At his nod she pulled a pastel pink photo album off a shelf filled with rubble, it was always amazing to her that she would often find baby books in the most vile of situations. She flipped through it, and found what she hoped to find, the child's birth certificate including her newborn hand and foot prints. The certificate listed Elizabeth Warden as the mother and a Daniel Jackson as the father of Jacqueline Warden. Leslie groaned. The girl's father would have a common name.

As she looked further through the album she found a snapshot of the child in happier times digging in a sandbox in the park. The handwritten caption underneath read, “Looks like Jackie is taking after her father, think the world's ready for another archaeologist?”

Leslie sighed; it was a place to start looking. How many Daniel Jacksons could possibly be archaeologists?

Gibbs gave her permission to take the album and she bagged it carefully.

Having accomplished everything she could in the dismal apartment, Leslie and Gibbs made their way out to the van where Tony was still sitting.

The little girl was awake and sipping from a plastic bottle of water, one little fist still holding Tony's shirt tightly. She eyed the two interlopers warily.

Leslie put a little smile on her face and said lightly, “Hi, my name is Leslie. What's your name, sweetheart?”

The little girl didn't answer, and Leslie wasn't surprised. It was a common reaction to trauma in children. “Were you thirsty?” No response again, but she did grip the water bottle tighter as if she were afraid someone would take it from her.

“No one will take that from you. Hey, that's a good looking bunny you've got there.”

Tony piped in, “That's what I told her. I told her I thought he was Bugs Bunny's brother.”

Leslie exaggerated, “I bet you're right. What's his name?”

They tried unsuccessfully to get her talk so Leslie finally made the decision, “Well I'm just gonna call you pipsqueak until you feel like telling me your name. That okay?” She actually got a little nod and it made Leslie want to do handstands.

“Okay pipsqueak, we're going to go for a ride and get you all checked out by a doctor, then I think it will be time for a nice warm bath and some clean clothes. 'Kay?”

The little girl started to shake and she buried her face in Tony's chest. Tony's arms went protectively around her and he rubbed her back gently.

Gibbs finally spoke up, “Tony, why don't you go with them and get her settled. We'll finish up here.” Tony nodded in agreement.

Leslie looked to Gibbs, “Thanks.”

“Anytime.” He turned to head back upstairs but spun around and walking backwards asked her, “Hey, by the way, how do you take your coffee?”

Leslie just blinked at him in confusion. “Um, coffee. Just coffee. But why do you need to know that?”

“Just in case a guy wants to buy you a cup of coffee sometime.”

“Like I have time for coffee.” she teased back.

He just chuckled and turned back around and went into the building.

She was shaking her head as she turned back to Tony, “Is he always like that?”

“He has his moments.”

---------------

Tony went with them to the hospital. The little girl still wouldn't talk, but they were able to get her to shake her head or nod in response to questions. She did confirm that her name was Jacqueline, and she would let them know if their poking or prodding hurt. She was malnourished and dehydrated. She had bruises here and there, the most disturbing being the deep fingerprint shaped ones on her upper arms. Everyone was hoping that she hadn't been sexually molested. To complete their exam, the doctor gave her a very light sedative to knock her out for a little while so she wouldn't be further traumatized by the necessary exam.

Tony took the opportunity to go to the men's room and he noticed his hands shaking when he washed them. The little girl was affecting him more than he realized.

He bought two sodas out of the vending machine, needing the caffeine and sugar boost, and headed back towards the exam room and to see Leslie in the corridor. He didn't know how she did her job every day. The horrific things that she must see day in and day out were worse than what he and his teammates saw every day. He handed her one of the sodas and cracked open his. Neither said anything until the doctor came out to give them a status.

Tony found himself holding his breath as they listened to the doctor. He didn't breathe again until she told them that although there was some bruising that could indicate rough fondling, that there didn't appear to be any evidence of any type of penetration. Both he and Leslie let out an audible sigh of relief at the news.

The doctor told them that she wanted to keep Jackie for a few days to get her rehydrated, and start working on the malnutrition issue. She let them know that the nurses were bathing her now and getting her situated in a room on the pediatric ward.

After the doctor walked away Tony asked, because abused children weren't his specialty, “You think she's going to be okay?”

Leslie was looking down at her shoes but turned her head slightly to say, “I think so. She's survived all that, it means she's strong. Now it's up to me to make sure she gets what she needs.”

Tony stayed with Leslie and Jackie until Jackie fell asleep, promising her that he would visit her the next day; he did however end up leaving his denim shirt behind. Jackie snuggled up to it like a security blanket and with her bunny tightly squeezed in one arm and the shirt in the other; she promptly fell into a peaceful sleep.

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tbc...

It was much later in the night, that time when it was almost not night any more that he slipped silently into the room. There was a dim light on so the little occupant of the bed wouldn't wake up in the dark and be frightened. The other soul in the room was sitting in a stuffed chair by the window, keeping a vigil. There was an old pain etched on her face, something in her that this little girl's circumstance was bringing out. Her eyes met his, neither surprised to see the other.

Gibbs crossed the room without making a sound and handed Leslie one of the coffees he was carrying and she said quietly, “Thanks. How'd you know I was here?”

“I had a hunch.”

She nodded and looked back over the sleeping child, the sleeping child that had amazingly not had any nightmares.

As he sat in the other stuffed chair next to her, his eyes fell to something the little girl was holding and he asked with a soft chuckle, “Is that DiNozzo's shirt?”

“Yeah. It was the only way she would let him leave. It makes her feel safe. I think she associates the smell of his aftershave with someone or something positive in her life.”

Gibbs noted that there was a little bit of a far away quality to words, like she was rehashing something from the past in her mind, overlaying it with the present. “This case is different for you, isn't it?” he prodded gently. When her eyes met his full of questions, he added, “I saw you in that room, remember?”

She looked down at her coffee, “Oh.”

“Bringing up memories of another case?”

“Yeah. Mine.” She found the courage to look him in the eye again, somehow knowing that he wouldn't judge, and more importantly, wouldn't pity, she couldn't stand the pity that people dumped on her. “I was her. But worse. Much worse.”

Gibbs didn't quite know what to say, “That why you work for Social Services?”

She gave him a wane little smile, “Yeah. Seemed like an obvious career choice.”

“Seems like the perfect career choice.”

“It is.”

They looked at each other for a stretched out moment, both feeling a spark of attraction, but both knowing that this wasn't the time or place for it. But that was okay. Neither was going anywhere as they settled back into the soft chairs and watched the little girl sleeping peacefully.

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Colorado Springs
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Jack threw out the last of the unidentifiable food from the fridge with a sigh. He bought groceries with the honest intention of eating. But either missions and catastrophes kept him away from home or if he were home the emptiness would make him loose any appetite he might have had. Everywhere he looked in the house he saw Daniel. And in honestly Jack hadn't been this hollowed out since Charlie died.

He often thought that if he didn't know weight of the work that they did under that mountain, he would have retired again and gotten lost at his cabin in Minnesota. But he knew that Daniel was out there somewhere. Invariably fighting the Gou'ald in his own way. And it was the tiniest sliver of hope that he might again see Daniel that made Jack put his boots on every morning and report for duty.

Jack finally took a hot shower and climbed into bed. On Daniel's side. He reached to turn off the light on the nightstand and sighed as he saw a spare pare of Daniel's glasses sitting on top of some old, leather bound book that Daniel had been reading before they went to Kelowna. He hadn't had the emotional strength to put them away, instead leaving them right where Daniel had left them. His hand moved to put them in the nightstand drawer, but he just couldn't. He quickly flicked the light off, letting the darkness of the room hide the silent tear that slipped out on him. And as he wrapped himself around Daniel's pillow and started to fade off to sleep, he said the words he spoke every night in the dark, just on the oft chance that Daniel was listening, “I miss you...”

He was roused by a painfully familiar voice teasing, “I miss you, too, Jack. But that's still my side of the bed. I thought we had settled that years ago.”

Jack's eyes flew open. The room had a hazy sort of look, and as he rolled over there was an impossibility lying next to him on top of the covers. “Daniel?”

Daniel looked different, softer somehow. And a there seemed to be a faint glowing aura around him.

“Hi, Jack.”

“I'm dreaming aren't I?” Jack asked, not believing that Daniel was really there.

“Yes and no. You are dreaming, but I am really here. This was the only way I could talk to you without alerting the others. Something's come up. Something important. And I need you.”

Jack sat up, as did Daniel, “What is it? Something with the Gou'ald? Did you find something we can use?”

“No, not the Gou'ald. It's personal. And you've got to believe me when I tell you I didn't know. I had no idea. I would never have left her there, never.”

“Daniel, what are you talking about?”

“I have a daughter, Jack. A daughter.”

“A daughter?”

“Yeah. She's about five or so. You've got to help her, Jack, please.” Daniel's face took on a concerned look, “The others are pulling me back, promise me you'll help her, Jack. That you'll raise her and love her. Promise me.”

Daniel's form started to get fainter and fainter and his words faded out as he disappeared altogether.

Jack woke with a start and stared around the room, there was no sign of Daniel. And as he scrubbed his face he realized that Daniel hadn't told him where his daughter was. The question of him raising Daniel's child didn't even warrant a response, it was a given that he would do it. How could he not?

He threw on his clothes and without a second thought, because he knew she'd still be working in her lab, he called Sam.

“Carter, I need your expertise.”

---------------
tbc...

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A half hour later Jack whisked into Sam's lab, two coffee's in hand. He didn't know how to start the conversation and Sam could see his discomfort.

“Sir, it's almost one o'clock in the morning, what ever it is that brought you here has to be important. Don't worry about it coming out perfectly.”

“Carter, if I were to tell you that Daniel visited me tonight would you think I'm loosing my mind?”

Sam reached up and scratched at the back of her neck nervously, “Well, um, no, Sir, I wouldn't.”

Jack's eyebrow shot up in surprise, “You wouldn't?”

“Well, Sir, Teal'c and I were talking. We think Daniel's been back a few times. We've both had similar experiences were we could just... well, just feel Daniel in the room, but there was no one there. So if you tell me that he actually visited you, of all people, it wouldn't come as a complete shock.”

Jack just looked at her in shock, wondering for a second why they hadn't mentioned this to him. But then he realized. They were trying to spare his feelings. Daniel being gone was the big taboo topic for everyone, especially for those few that knew about Jack and Daniel. They were all grieving, they all had a big gaping hole in their hearts where Daniel had resided but none of those holes compared to Jack's. The rest of them had lost a friend and a co-worker, Jack had lost the person he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. Sam and Teal'c knew this better than anyone.

“Okay. Here's the thing...” Jack explained everything in detail that he remembered from his brief conversation with Daniel.

Sam thought hard for a couple of minutes, processing what he had told her. “Well, she would have to be somewhere here on Earth. That's one question answered. If she's five or so, she would have been conceived before we brought Daniel into the program.”

Jack nodded eagerly; he had figured out that much math on his own, “I brought Daniel's journals that cover that time frame five, six years years ago. Maybe there is something in there that will point us in the right direction.”

“Great. And in the meantime I've put a flag on Daniel's information in the system. If anyone tries to access his information or DNA profile we'll be notified immediately. Maybe we'll get lucky.”

They talked for a few more minutes and decided they needed Teal'c and a snack run to the commissary. And once they were settled at a table with about a year's worth of junk food in front of them, the three got down to the work of going through Daniel's journals.

Ultimately it was Teal'c that found the most promising entry. “I believe I have found something.”

He handed Sam the journal and pointed out the entry. She read it out loud, trying not to feel like she was invading Daniel's privacy, but steeled her resolve by remembering that Daniel's daughter was at stake, “The symposium at the Smithsonian was a complete waste of time. Most of those organizing and presenting haven't had a new idea in thirty years, and they're not particularly receptive to someone else having one either. The trip itself wasn't a complete waste though; I met this fantastic Georgetown senior named Elizabeth Warden. She's beautiful, and intelligent, and has such a passion for her field. Which by the way is sociology. I changed my flight around and we were able to spend the weekend together. It felt great to really connect with someone, and not just the physical, although that was pretty spectacular in and of itself. But there was more to it than that, she just understood my drive, my desire to learn and experience. Our paths are going in different directions and I don't know if I will ever see her again, but I am sure that I will think of her often, and remember."

When Sam was finished, Jack was sitting there with a little smirk, he could just picture Daniel as he wrote those words.

Sam reread the passage to herself and said, “That has to be her, Sir. There just aren't any other entries that even come close.”

Jack nodded in agreement. There was just a gut feeling that this was right woman. Now they just had to find her, and find Daniel's daughter.

They decided to try and catch a couple hours of sleep on base and Sam would contact Georgetown University first thing when their offices opened, she would also try and do a computer search and see if anything about Elizabeth Warden popped up.

---------------

Gibbs noticed that Leslie had nodded off in the chair and he quietly pulled a spare blanket off of the shelf and draped it around her, careful not to wake her. Her face was relaxed in her sleep, the worries of the day gone. She interested him a lot. He wondered how she was with sandpaper. With that thought he settled himself back in his chair with a smile.

Jackie, Gibbs had noticed, slept a deep, restful sleep. A healing sort of sleep. He was glad that she didn't have any demons chasing her in her dreams. She more than deserved to sleep peacefully and only conjure up visions of bunnies, teddy bears, maybe even talking butterflies. He remembered Kelly telling him about talking to butterflies in her dreams sometimes. She had liked the talking butterflies.

What Gibbs didn't know was that there was someone in Jackie's dreams with her, watching over her and standing between her and the beasts that wanted to give chase and make her wake with a scream. That someone was her father. And he was angry, burning with a righteous fury. The others let him have this small leeway, allowing him to be with her. What Daniel didn't know was that in his current state that he frightened them. They knew if he truly unleashed his anger and rage that they would not be able to contain him, wouldn't be able to hold him back; they would be defenseless against him. So they let him go to her. Only her.

---------------

When Daniel had first entered her dream she was back in the room of that dirty apartment. She was a little leery of him, but not afraid, and there was a spark of curiosity in her eyes and oddly, Daniel thought, a tiny twinge of recognition.

He sat cross legged on the dirty floor a little ways away from her and smiled, “Hi.”

She didn't hesitate to reply, “Hi.”

“I'm Daniel. You don't have to be afraid. I won't let anyone hurt you, Jacqueline.”

She frowned and shook her head.

Daniel smiled, “What you don't believe me?”

“My name's Jackie.”

“Oh, well then. It's nice to meet you, Jackie.”

“Mommy's got a picture of you.”

“She does? Wow.” That explained the recognition; they had taken many photos over their weekend together as they took in the tourist sites. “I knew your mommy a long time ago.”

He noticed that she was inching closer, her trusty rabbit at her side. He could see her thinking hard about what he had just said and he asked, “Does your mommy ever talk about me?”

Her little lip quivered a bit, but she bravely said, “She says I look like you. She says you're my daddy, but it's 'posed to be a secret. A big secret.”

“She's right, do look like me. And I am your daddy, sweetheart. And I am so sorry I didn't know about you. I would never have left you here,” he gestured around the room, “if I had known you were here. I'm so sorry.” Daniel couldn't keep his eyes from welling, nor could he stop the tears from running down his cheeks freely.

His daughter saw his tears and walked on her knees over to him, dragging her rabbit along by a leg. Her little eyes filled with compassion as she reached out tentatively and stuck a little finger on his cheek, tracing a tear. He tried to smile for her, and didn't think he did a very good job of it. But somewhere, somehow along the way he had done the right thing because the next thing he knew, he had little arms wrapped around his neck as she hugged him for all she was worth. He wrapped his arms around her and held his daughter close for the first time.

Daniel had no way of knowing just how long they stayed like that, and didn't really care. But eventually she wiggled and squirmed to sit in front of him on the floor again.

He suddenly wanted to be out of that dank room, wanted to be out in the fresh air and sunshine, and wanted to see Jackie smile and play. He knew it was all a dream but there was no reason it couldn't be a happier dream. He said lightly, “You know you're dreaming right now. I'm really here, but you're sleeping right now.”

She shrugged, just accepting things with a suspension of disbelief that only a child could manage, “They took me to the hos... the hos... the hos...” she couldn't find the right word.

“The hospital?” Daniel prompted.

“Yeah.”

“You know what the great thing about dreaming is? You can go anywhere you want to go. Is there anyplace you want to go? The sun is out, we could go outside somewhere.”

“Can we go to the park?” she asked brightly, really perking up for the first time, “I like the sandbox.”

He laughed and stood up, “Me too.” They walked over to the closed door of the bedroom, and he held out his hand, “Now think really hard about your favorite park, and when we open this door, there it will be. Okay?”

She put her hand in his, her other one occupied by a stuffed rabbit leg, and she closed her eyes and thought really hard for a minute then said, “I'm ready, Daddy.”

The “Daddy” almost brought Daniel to his knees, but he rallied around his emotions and opened the door to find a beautiful park with a playground area and an enormous sandbox.

The moment they crossed the threshold she let go of his hand and ran towards the sandbox with a giggle. He caught up with her a second later as he looked around. Surprisingly in her recollection of this park she had included other people and children. Soon the two of them were happily digging in the sand together. It was idyllic.

Well, it was idyllic until Daniel noticed a dirty, mean looking man all dressed in black leering at them from the sidewalk. It took Daniel a moment to realize that the man was the personification of one of the horrors of her past trying to turn her dream into a nightmare. Daniel took a quick look around and realized that there were in fact a dozen or more men in black, varying in shape and size, but not demeanor. He stood and placed himself between them and Jackie, letting his righteous fury smolder in his eyes. Seeing the wrath in his eyes, the men slunk back into the shadows.

He knew eventually Jackie was going to have to battle these demons on her own, but it wasn't going to be tonight. And when she did, she would be surrounded by people that loved her, and would help her through it.

---------------

Tony got into the office early, very early, to try and do a little search for Jacqueline's father. Leslie had given him what little information she had found in the album and he ran with it, truth be told he had run down leads on a lot less before.

He started with a quick internet search but the only references to a Daniel Jackson, archaeologist, were about some guy with way out there theories that the pyramids were landing platforms for aliens. The hits for that man were few and far between and he discarded them. Striking out on the internet, he decided for giggles to try the Armed Forces database and see if maybe he could get lucky and the guy was in the Navy or something.

He left the search running and went to the break room to grab coffee. He was shocked that in that short period of time that he was gone that he had gotten a hit. A Doctor Daniel Jackson was a consultant for the Air Force, specializing in linguistics, anthropology, and archeology. But everything else about him was inaccessible, but there was a big flag on the file and instructions for contacting a Major Sam Carter out at Cheyenne Mountain for any additional information.

He quickly printed off the details and groaned as he looked at his watch, it would be a couple of hours before he could even attempt to get a hold of Major Carter given the time zone difference. He decided a quick nap at his desk was in order, and he closed his eyes with a sense of accomplishment somehow knowing deep down that this was the Daniel Jackson they were looking for.

He had been sleeping about an hour when something woke him up; an odd feeling like someone was watching him. He cracked his eyes open and just about jumped out of his skin; Gibbs was looming over him with a smirk. Gibbs didn't say anything but placed a large coffee on Tony's desk and as he went to his own desk he threw back at Tony, “DiNozzo, that was good work yesterday.”

Tony had been in mid stretch and the words stopped him cold, Gibbs was not one to just throw praise his way. “Thanks, Boss. I think I got a lead on who her father is, too.” He picked up his coffee and the limited details about Daniel that he had printed and stepped over to Gibbs' desk. Gibbs looked at the info, his gut telling him that something wasn't right with this Daniel Jackson. Why exactly would the Air Force need an archaeologist at the Cheyenne Mountain facility in the middle of Colorado Springs? It made no sense. But it did read like a bad cover story for special ops. And if Jackson were doing special ops, it was possible he didn't even know he had a daughter, let alone the squalor she had been living in and the abuse she had been subjected to. They had too many questions and not enough answers.

Tony saw the look of frustration on Gibbs' face, Gibbs always took it personally when children were involved. “I'm gonna contact that Major Carter in as soon as daylight hits Colorado Springs, Boss. Maybe he'll have some answers.”

---------------
tbc...

---------------

Jack met up with Sam as she was leaving the locker room. The two hours of sleep they had both managed to get weren't quite enough and they were both a little gritty eyed. Sam had hoped a shower would have helped but it didn't, she was just going to have to live on coffee today. She did scrounge the energy from somewhere though to smile at Jack's obvious bed head, his hair going off in even more directions than usual with a particularly artistic flat spot on one side.

As tired as he was he found himself giving her a little grin in return. Sam was a beautiful woman, on the inside as well as out, and her smile had been noticeably absent since Daniel's ascension. So it was nice to see a smile on her face, even if it was at his expense, and even if it was over something as trivial as his bed head.

With a mumbled, “I'll meet you in the commissary in five.” Jack headed for a shower.

The shower helped a little, and so did breakfast and coffee. And they were both working on another cup as they headed into Sam's lab. As she nudged her computer out of the screen saver a bright red, attention grabbing warning was on her screen.

Jack heard her say “Yes!” under her breath as she clicked on something on the screen.

“What?” he asked.

“Someone tried to access Daniel's file in the Armed Forces database a little while ago, Sir.”

“Friend or foe?” The thought that maybe the NID had Daniel's daughter had crossed his mind a few times, but he just couldn't see what good that would do them, unless they intended to use her to extort Jack and others at the SGC.

She was reading intently, “Well this is odd. It looks like it was NCIS out of Washington. A Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.”

Jack's brain was tired but he was able to put a couple of things together, “You think its a coincidence that Georgetown is in D.C. too?”

“It does seem a little coincidental, Sir. But NCIS is part of the Navy. It doesn't make any sense.”

“Smells like NID, you know they have their slimy little fingers everywhere. What can you pull up on that DiNozzo?”

A few keystrokes later, Tony's picture and data sheet filled the screen. Sam was floored and just stared. Where were the guys that looked like that when she was working at the Pentagon?

Jack caught her reaction and just had to tease, “He's cute.”

The fish out of water routine her mouth did in response made the lame joke worth it. Ever since she had found out about him and Daniel he enjoyed keeping her off balance with little comments like that every now and again. It was almost too easy.

She finally realized he was teasing her and she just shook her head. They returned their attention to reading Tony's information and they both decided that it didn't feel like the NID. They were normally much more covert about their snooping.

As they sat there sipping there coffee trying to figure out what to do next, Sam's phone rang and Jack heard the one sided exchange, “Carter.” “Yes, please connect him.”

She hit the button for the speaker phone and mouthed to Jack, “DiNozzo.” then greeted the caller, “This is Major Carter.”

“Um, This is Special Agent Tony DiNozzo with NCIS, I'm looking for Major Sam Carter.” Tony said, a little confused.

“You found her. Major Samantha Carter. And I'm here on speaker with Colonel O'Neill. What can we do for NCIS today?”

Tony was a little distracted, Major Carter had one of those telephone voices that just sent little shivers down his spine. He started frantically poking at his computer, trying to pull up her service record so he could see what she looked like, fearing an old battle ax in with a bun in her hair and horn-rimmed glasses. He realized that she had asked him a question and quickly formulated a response, “We're investigating a double homicide out here in Washington and I need to locate Dr. Daniel Jackson. His information was locked down and tagged by you, Major Carter, so here I am.”

Her picture suddenly filled his computer screen and Tony's eyes couldn't have gotten any wider. There was just no way she was a geek, she was gorgeous. But her service report stated that she had a Ph.D. in Astrophysics. You couldn't get any more geek than that, and he sighed inwardly, he'd never be able to make rocket science jokes to her.

“Why exactly are you looking for Daniel in your investigation?” Sam asked, still not giving up any information.

“We found something that we think belongs to him at the crime scene.” Tony replied, also not giving up any information.

At Tony's words, Jack started squeezing the edge of the desk so tightly his knuckles were white. Was Agent DiNozzo talking about Daniel's daughter? He used his best special ops training to keep the emotion out of his voice as he asked pointedly, leaving no wiggle room for the agent to weasel out of telling him what he wanted to know, “What exactly did you find, Agent DiNozzo?”

Tony had been at NCIS long enough to have dealt with all levels of command authority. Some men put it on almost as a show, some tried but never quite got it right, and then there were those that it was just so ingrained in them that it was just a part of who they were. Gibbs was a perfect example of that, and with those seven words, Tony realized that Colonel O'Neill was as well.

He had to make a quick decision, to tell them or not to tell them. He decided to try and stall a bit, but he sensed he would end up telling them anyway.

“I really think I should speak with Dr. Jackson directly.”

Jack's lack of sleep, coupled with the emotions he was trying to contain finally got the best of him, he wanted answers. He threw up his hands, “Oh for crying out loud.”

Sam decided to try another tactic with the agent and interrupted Jack's starting tirade, “Agent DiNozzo, unfortunately there is no way for you to speak with Daniel. The details are classified, but he is listed as missing in action, presumed dead. Now please tell us what you found. We were teammates of Daniel's for a long time, and we consider him a friend, and... family.” She chided herself when her voice caught with emotion towards the end, she hated showing signs of weakness.

Tony heard that little catch in her voice and he thought briefly about what it would be like to lose one of his teammates and his mind repulsed from the idea. He couldn't imagine what their emotions were. He also put himself in their place, imagining that if by some fluke he had a child he didn't know about would he want someone telling his teammates? And the answer was absolutely in the affirmative. And if by that same fluke, he were dead, there wouldn't be anyone other than any member of his team that he would want to raise his child.

“I'm sorry. I... I didn't know.” Tony's voice had softened and was full of compassion. “We were called to an apartment that was the scene of a double homicide, a dead sailor and a woman the local police say is a known prostitute and drug addict. As were collecting evidence I found a little girl hiding under a pile of laundry in a closet. We found a baby book with a birth certificate that listed Elizabeth Warden as the mother and a Daniel Jackson as the father. There were some pictures and notes in the album that suggested the father was an archaeologist so I've been digging, if you'll pardon the pun, to try and find him.”

“Oh my god.” Sam said in a whisper.

Jack took in a deep breath and let it out, and asked, “Is she okay?” Visions of a little girl living with prostitute bringing home customers almost made him lose his breakfast.

“She's in the custody of Social Services at the moment. She's dehydrated and underweight and the doctor is keeping her in the hospital for a few days to keep an eye on her.”

Jack and and Sam just stared at each other, the reality of it all hitting them. When they didn't say anything for a while, Tony gently cleared his throat and said, “Major Carter, if you have his DNA records we can run them against the girl's and verify that she is in fact his daughter.”

Sam shook off her shock, “Yeah, um, I'll unlock his file right now, you'll be able to access them.” Her fingers flew over the keys.

Tony pulled up Daniel's file and gasped in surprise when he saw Daniel's picture for the first time, his daughter was the spitting image of him, especially the eyes. Even without the DNA, Tony was convinced.

“What?” Sam asked, hearing his surprise.

Gently Tony said, “She looks just like him. I'll send you a picture.” He emailed off a photo that they had snapped yesterday at the hospital, and it was a picture that he knew would haunt him for a very long time, she was just so forlorn and unloved. It broke his heart a little more every time he looked at it.

But being the big, macho guy he was he would swear that he would never admit that, until he heard Major Carter sniffle as she tried to clear her throat to keep from crying as she looked at the picture of the little girl. Softly Tony said with lump in his throat, “Me too, Major Carter. Me too.”

Jack could only stare. He could see Daniel in everything about her. And she was so not staying out in Washington where no one cared if she lived or died. She was coming home to Colorado where she belonged. If he had to get the President himself involved he would. Hell, if he had to call in Thor to take them both someplace safe he would. She was not going to get dumped into that same system that had left scars so deep on Daniel's psyche that nothing would ever heal them. Daniel was his, she was Daniel's, ergo she was his. Simple.

Jack gritted out between clenched teeth, “I'm on a plane in an hour.” Then he turned and left the room heading for Hammond's office.

Sam wiped her cheeks, trying to hide the evidence that she had been crying, and said, “We'll be out there in a couple of hours, Agent DiNozzo. I can't even begin to tell you what this means to us.”

“Please call me Tony. I'm sending you the info to contact the social worker in charge of her case. And, uh, my contact info as well, Major Carter.”

“Sam. Please. Will we see you when we hit Washington?”

“Yeah. And I should have the DNA comparison by then just to confirm.”

Sam was back to staring at the picture of the little waif and realized they hadn't asked him an important question, “What's her name?”

Tony chuckled, “Oh, yeah. It's Jacqueline, but looking at some of the stuff in the album, I think they call her Jackie.”

He was treated to the sound of Sam laughing, an almost full out belly laugh and it was a wonderful sound. When she finally caught her breath he asked, “Why is that so funny?”

“Colonel O'Neill first name is Jack. It just brought back a memory.” She didn't tell him that she thought about the time that they had all gotten together at Jack's house for a barbecue and after a few beers Jack had started calling Daniel “Danny” much to his chagrin. So a pleasantly drunk Daniel had started tormenting Jack by calling him “Jackie” in a sing-song voice. It had denigrated down to the point that they both sounded like five year olds on the playground. She and Teal'c just sat back and enjoyed the show. It had been a good day, full of camaraderie and laughter. She missed those days.

“Well, I guess I will see you in a few hours then, huh? Maybe I can convince you to share that story with me since it's obviously a good one.” Tony asked, allowing just a hint of flirting to enter his voice.

“Hmm, maybe.” She teased back, she felt oddly comfortable with Tony on the phone, it would be interesting to meet him in person. “Tony?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

“You're welcome. I'll see you in a while.”

Sam hit the button killing the speaker and took a moment just thinking about little Jackie before heading to Hammond's office, where she thought she was certain to find Jack.

---------------
tbc...

---------------

While Tony was on the phone with Sam, Gibb's went to see Abby. She was flitting around the lab like a hummingbird strung out on sugar. But she made him smile. Her general good nature and sunny disposition was enough to make anyone smile.

“Gibbs!”

“Morning, Abs.”

She could see that he looked tired, and hadn't slept much. She knew he took cases involving children very hard. He got a ghost of a smile though, which surprised her, when she asked, “How's the little girl?”

“She slept through the night without any nightmares, Leslie said that was a good sign.”

“Leslie?”

“Leslie Olsen. She's with Social Services.” He had been fiddling with a one of her toys on the bench and she could see the real smirk curling up the corners of his mouth this time that could only mean one thing, this Leslie had caught his eye. Abby wondered if she was a red head. But his smile was quickly gone and he was back to business, “So you got anything from the slugs Ducky pulled out of the two victims?”

“Actually I do.” Her fingers flew over the keyboard to pull up the results. The same gun killed both of their victims, and Abby had a ballistics match to an open police case. The suspect in that case was a known drug dealer that just happened to live one floor down from their crime scene. The police hadn't been able to charge him in the open case because he had an alibi and they were not able to recover the murder weapon.

Tony entered the lab a few minutes later and shared his conversation with Sam and Colonel O'Neill. Abby pulled up the released DNA records for Daniel Jackson and set about comparing them to little Jackie's DNA profile that had just finished running. It only took her a a few mouse clicks to overlay the images and confirm that Jackie was in fact Daniel's daughter.

Gibbs let out a sigh, he had really hoped to be able to find her father and have a happy ending for the little girl. Now it looked like she didn't have anyone. He wondered what was going to happen to her now? Would she end up in the foster care system? Moved from home to home until she was eighteen, never having a family of her own? He knew there wasn't anything he could do. The system was the system. And he wondered exactly what this Colonel O'Neill and Major Carted expected to accomplish. Did they really think that Social Services was just going to turn Jackie over to them just because they were Dr. Jackson's teammates?

“I need coffee,” Gibbs announced and left the lab. As he hit the sidewalk he flipped open his phone and called Leslie.

---------------

Unbeknown to Sam, Jack was actually taking a walk in the fresh air topside with General Hammond. There were some conversations that needed to take place out of the mountain.

“Sir, I don't really know how to begin this conversation.”

“Well, if it's the conversation I think it is then you can start by calling me George.”

“Yeah. That would be a good start, Si... George. Something's come up. Something important. About Daniel.”

George heard the emotion in Jack's voice. He had long suspected that Jack's relationship with Daniel had gone beyond friendship, but had deliberately looked the other way, not really wanting to know. And he knew that the rest of SG-1 had closed ranks around Jack when Daniel ascended, supporting and protecting him. He also knew that Jack wouldn't be having this conversation with him without good reason. “What is it, Jack?”

“Well, he, ah, visited me last night. And I know that sounds crazy but he really did. And he told me that he found out that he has a daughter and that she needed my help.”

“Dr. Jackson has a daughter?” George asked, the surprise evident on his face and in his voice.

“It gets better, Si... George.” Jack told him about searching through Daniel's journals and then the surprise phone call from Agent DiNozzo.

“Oh, thank god she's safe now.” Was the only thing he could think to say. He couldn't imagine a child living in those circumstances.

“Yeah,” came Jack's quiet response. He was staring at his shoes trying to figure out what to say next. “George, you know that thing you can't ask, and I'm not supposed to tell?”

Jack's eyes finally met George's and they were begging him not to make him say the words out loud. George knew that it would cost Jack everything that he was to admit to it. But he would, for Daniel's daughter. “I know, son.” George replied, those three words allowing Jack to keep his facade intact.

“I have to take some time off. I have to go to Washington.”

“Yes, you do. There is a little girl that needs to be brought back here to the family she didn't know she had. And that will give all of us the opportunity to teach her what an exceptional person her father truly is.” He clapped a hand on Jack's shoulder and they started walking back towards the entrance to the mountain.

There was one thing George wanted to know, something that would nag at him if he didn't ask, “Jack, you don't have to answer, but was it just...”

Jack knew what George was asking, “No. Think old married couple.”

A faint smile crossed George's face, the two of them had bickered and argued like an old married couple on more than one occasion. But the term also implied love and support and a whole host of other things that went into a long term relationship. And of any of the people under his command that he would have been glad to know had those things, Jack and Daniel would have topped the list. And it made the loss of Daniel even more poignant.

Jack connected with Sam on base before they both made quick trips home to pack a suitcase. He also grabbed a packet of papers out of his safe. Papers he never expected to show anyone, but was now glad to have. He picked Sam up at her house and in short order they were on a plane to Washington.

---------------

They had gotten a warrant to search the drug dealer's apartment, and Tony, McGee, and Kate went to serve it. It did not go well and it was almost a miracle that none of them were killed as the dealer shot through the paper thin walls. Ultimately it ended when Tony put a slug into the dealer's shoulder and he dropped the gun. Once they had him in handcuffs they searched the apartment, finding a cache of drugs and weapons, one of which matched the specs of their murder weapon. Feeling very satisfied that they had gotten a premiere dirtbag off the street, Tony finished processing the scene with McGee while Kate went to the hospital with the dealer. It took them a while but when they were finished they headed back to NCIS.

---------------

Jackie had woken up and eaten her breakfast, actually inhaled the light breakfast the doctor ordered for her. She had not had a truly decent meal in a very long time. The nurses spoke gently to her, trying to draw her out of her shell a bit, but she remained silent. They helped her wash her face and hands and use the bathroom. And with her belly full and no longer growling at her she watched the cartoons on television. Later on she had another little meal for lunch and dozed back off to sleep, where her father waited patiently for her. This time when she dreamed it was of her hospital room, and thankfully not that dank apartment.

“Daddy?” She asked seeing him sitting on the edge of her bed.

“Yes, sweetheart?”

“Who's gonna take care of me?”

“Well, I'm hoping that you will be able to go live with a very good friend of mine. His name is Jack.”

She smiled, “Like me!”

“Yup. Jack and Jackie. Jack is a great guy, and he and I care about each other very much. He will make sure that you have a wonderful home.”

Her eyes dropped to the blanket and she suddenly looked afraid, and Daniel asked gently, “What is it, Jackie? You can ask me anything.”

She looked up and he could see her lip quivering, “He's not like Mommy's friends is he?”

The reality of that question blew Daniel away and how he yearned to let loose his rage and fury at whichever waste of humanity had dared touch his child. He pulled her into his lap and gave her a reassuring squeeze, “Oh, no, no, no. Jack is not like that at all. He will keep you safe, I promise.”

Daniel told her all about Jack, along with Sam and Teal'c. And she felt much better about it all when he was done and was looking forward to meeting them. He could feel her waking up in the real world which would bring an end to this visit. So he turned and tucked her into the bed and gave her a kiss on the forehead. He would feel better when Jack was finally in Washington. Jack would protect her, and keep her safe. And most importantly, Jack would love her.

---------------

Leslie had gotten a phone call from Sam and she arranged to meet them at the hospital. Jethro had also called her and informed her that Jackie's DNA was in fact a match to Dr. Jackson's. She wasn't quite sure what Dr. Jackson's teammates from Colorado expected. She certainly wasn't just going to hand Jackie over to them simply because they were his former teammates. It just didn't work that way. In the meantime though, she had another priority call to go on and it sounded like a doozy.

---------------

Gibbs and Tony had decided to meet Sam, Jack, and Leslie at the hospital. They really didn't need to be there, what happened to little Jackie now was out of their jurisdiction. But both men felt compelled to see this thing through to the end. And if Gibbs were honest with himself, he wanted to give Leslie a little backup in case she needed it, the last thing she needed was some overbearing Colonel thinking that the birds on his shoulders would help him circumvent the system.

Tony had peeked in Jackie's room and saw her sleeping, and he smiled gently as he took in the absolutely peaceful expression on her little face as she slept, it was a much better vision of her for him to remember than that sad little photo from the day before. Deciding not to disturb her he headed back out to the small waiting area near the nurses' station to sit with Gibbs.

He pulled out his cell phone and started playing Tetris to kill some time. When his game ended he announced in triumph, “Oh yeah! New high score. Who's the man?”

Gibbs just gave him an exasperated look, but a voice from behind him teased, “Really, Tony? What level?”

He was about to make a smart remark in reply but he turned to see Sam smirking at him, a playful challenge twinkling in her eyes. The sight of her standing there in person in a pair of painted on jeans and a leather jacket made his brain short circuit. When two brain cells finally reconnected he smiled, “Sam.”

Sam was used to getting appreciative looks from men, especially given the fact that she worked with so many of them, but there was something in Tony's that actually made her blush. “Hi.”

“Wow, you guys made good time getting out here.” He could see a guy about Gibbs' age over at the nurses desk, and he assumed it was O'Neill.

“One of the perks of being in the Air Force, lots of planes.”

Jack walked towards them and added, “Being able to fly one helped too.” He extended his hand to Tony, “Colonel Jack O'Neill. Jack, please.”

“Tony DiNozzo, and this is my boss Special Agent Gibbs.”

Gibbs was in observation mode. And so far he liked what he saw. They were down to earth people, not caught up with their ranks or titles. The handshakes and introductions went around and Jack asked, “Is Miss Olsen around? The nurses won't let anyone into Jackie's room without her permission. And I really want to see her.”

Gibbs offered, “We haven't seen Leslie yet. But she said she'd be here. Why don't we sit down?”

They did exactly that, Jack flopping down in the nearest chair, his weariness apparent. But Gibbs also saw his anxiousness to find out about Jackie and actually see her for himself. Gibbs could almost see himself in Jack's actions. What he was more than a little curious about though, was the deep look of pain that was in Jack's eyes at the mention of Daniel. Gibbs had lost friends and comrades and he still grieved them all, but the loss in Jack's eyes went far beyond grieving a lost teammate and it created a sliver of curiosity in Gibbs' mind.

Sam sat in the chair next to Tony, Gibbs almost wanted to snicker, he could see DiNozzo spinning up into Don Juan mode. And he had to admit to himself that Tony had good taste, Sam was gorgeous and seemed to have a sense of humor.

The four of them chatted about the things each group had found out about Daniel and Elizabeth. There wasn't a whole lot to tell, and Gibbs and Tony were very closed mouth about Jackie's specific condition, deciding that it wasn't their place to share that information with Jack and Sam, it was Leslie's.

Jack was listening in a distracted sort of way to the conversation, his mind wandering. He wished Daniel would do some sort of a flyby or something, just to let him know he was there. He regarded Gibbs with a trained eye, the man certainly had a military bearing, Marines most likely, and he suspected that there would probably be some black ops holes in Gibbs service record if he checked. The only thing that even remotely made him want to smile was interaction between Sam and Tony. There was definitely a mutual attraction there, and he really hoped for Sam's sake that Tony turned out to be a nice guy, she deserved it.

As the conversation dwindled down to Tony and Sam comparing Tetris scores on their cell phones Jack started to get annoyed. The social worker was over an hour late. And just when he was going to voice his opinion about that, Leslie walked up to the nurses' station. Tony spotted her and said, “There's Leslie now.”

Gibbs could see instantly that something was wrong, her face had that same haunted look from the apartment. She must have gotten another case. Not knowing how it would be received he stepped over to her and put a light hand on her upper arm and asked gently, “Hey. You okay?”

She didn't flinch away from the unexpected touch, and said, “Bad case. Really bad case. Sorry I'm late.”

“Don't worry about it. You need a couple minutes to clear your head?”

She swallowed hard, “It's gonna take a lot more than a couple minutes to get this one out of my head, Jethro.”

He rubbed her arm, “Yeah.”

“I think I am going to go wash my face though, I'll be right back.”

Jack watched them, and then watched her started to walk away and his irritation flared, “Oh, for crying out loud. We've been waiting over an hour. Where is she going?”

Gibbs was about to put Jack in his place but Leslie turned and took care of it herself as she said, “I'm sorry I'm late, Colonel O'Neill. I was in the emergency room with an eighteen month old baby who's high father decided to burn out the bugs he thought he saw crawling under the baby's skin with a cigarette. You'll forgive me if that took priority.”

Jack's face took on a look of pain and said quietly, “I'm sorry. I'm just...”

Leslie gave him a little smile, “I know. You wouldn't have hopped on a plane and gotten here so quickly if you weren't anxious to see her. I do understand. But please, let me just visit the ladies room and collect myself then we'll talk, and you can see her. Okay?”

He just nodded, not knowing exactly what to say now that he made an idiot of himself.

Tony and Sam stood up as Leslie walked away, and Tony said, “Hey, Boss? We're going to run get us all some coffee. We'll be right back.”

“Good idea, Tony.”

Gibbs went back to his chair and sat down. Jack was sitting with his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands. And he said through them, “I couldn't do her job and not shoot people.” He looked up and continued, “I didn't mean to upset your friend, Gibbs. It's just that Jackie is a part of Daniel and... he's gone. I want to see her, let her know everything is going to be okay, and that she's safe now.”

The pain was evident in Jack's voice, he was either not trying to or just not able to mask it. And it confirmed for Gibbs what he had suspected earlier. “You know it's not going to be easy for you to get custody not being a blood relative, “ Gibbs said gently.

“That's not going to be an issue.”

It was said with such conviction that the words could have come Gibbs himself, and he appreciated the strength of that conviction in O'Neill. He wondered though, why exactly O'Neill didn't think it was going to be an issue. But something kept him from asking, although he suspected that O'Neill wouldn't have told him anyway. And maybe it was better that way.

---------------
tbc...

A/N: Descriptions of past child abuse (Leslie's) in this section.

---------------

Sam and Tony walked side by side to the cafeteria, he liked the fact that she was tall and confidently matched his stride. He could tell that Sam was a little bothered by what Leslie had just said. He was about to break the quiet when Sam said, “I don't understand how people can do things like that to children.”

“Me either.” Tony decided that they really needed to lighten the mood a little and he teased, “So how many do you have? Six, seven?”

She looked at him in mock horror, “Ah, no. None actually. I am an auntie though, my brother has kids. What about you? Is there a little Tony Junior running around?”

“Not to my knowledge. I don't think the world is quite ready for two Anthony DiNozzos.”

They had reached the cafeteria and started pouring and fixing the coffees and Tony was chuckling. Sam shot him a questioning look, “What's so funny?”

“Just that I must be slipping because I haven't managed to find out yet if you have a boyfriend or not. So much for being a smooth operator.”

Sam blushed and cleared her throat gently, what was it about Tony that kept making her do that? Maybe she was too used to the military men she worked with every day, they saw her as a teammate or a comrade, and although they knew she was a woman it was taboo for them to acknowledge it. Tony on the other hand was not hiding the fact that he was attracted to her and it had been a really long time since anyone had just flirted so shamelessly with her. She was enjoying the attention and it made her feel very self confident so she teased back, “Why thinking about applying for the job?”

Without missing a beat he retorted as he balanced three of the coffees, “Maybe. Why don't you tell me about the fringe benefits on the walk back and I'll let you know.”

---------------

Leslie had pushed her sleeves up and splashed some cool water on her face. After she had patted her face dry with a paper towel she went to pull her sleeves back down but her attention was drawn to a couple of small circular scars on her forearm. And although she didn't want it to, the memory of receiving them flashed in her mind.

Her stepfather had been a brutal, domineering man. He had beaten her mother into becoming a mute, submissive rag and then started on six year old Leslie. He pulled her out of school, telling the school board she was being home schooled for religious reasons. In reality it was so no one would see the welts from his belt, or the finger shaped bruises on her arms, or the cigarette burns he was particularly fond of inflicting. His “teaching” sessions were always followed by him spending some quality time in her bedroom as he fondled and groped and satisfied himself. They lived far out in the Virginia countryside and there was no one to hear the cries, or the screams.

He managed to contain himself to just the beatings and fondlings for two whole years before her mother set him off about something and he beat her unconscious. Unable to satisfy his lust on her unconscious mother, he stormed into Leslie's bedroom and threw her to the mattress on the floor in the corner and brutally raped her. The rapes became an almost daily occurrence after that, and Leslie would swear that her mother was relieved, because if he was with Leslie he wasn't hurting her.

Things had gone from bad to worse for Leslie when her mother finally committed suicide. He locked in her room, barely giving her enough food and water to live. The living conditions degraded to worse than the apartment they had found Jackie in and Leslie was so weak and broken that she wanted to go to sleep and never wake up. Her salvation came in the form of an undercover agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms that was posing as a buyer for the moonshine her stepfather bootlegged. He had caught a glimpse of the starved, dirty Leslie that was looking out through a window as he and her stepfather talked business in the yard. His eyes met hers and she actually let her self think for just that moment that he had kind eyes, and that maybe he wouldn't hurt her.

The very next day the property was raided and Leslie watched as her stepfather tried to shoot it out with the agents. The agent that she had seen the day before ended up being the one to put a bullet in her stepfather's head although she wouldn't find that out until she was an adult. When the door to her room was kicked in, the agent was the first one through the door. She was trying to hide in the corner with her hands over her ears attempting to block out the gunfire and shouting. The agent simply hit his knees not too far into the room and waited. When she finally met his eyes he said gently, “Sweetheart, how'd you like to get outta here?” When she nodded silently he held out his hand and she saw him almost crying when she finally took it.

She stared at those little round scars and absently rubbed them with the other hand, and she smiled remembering those first words that her adopted father said to her. A dedicated federal agent, he had a wife and two sons about Leslie's age. He had taken what happened to Leslie very personally, to the point of making a nuisance of himself to the social workers and the hospital staff taking care of her. He was the only one that could make the little girl smile. And when she was released from the hospital and put in the children's home, it only took one visit there for he and his wife to start the adoption process rolling. Tony reminded her of him, fun loving on the outside, serious on the inside. She made a mental note to call her father later, he always seemed to know what to say to make her feel better. And she wondered for a second what her father would think of Gibbs.

With that thought causing a silly little look on her face, and a final tug on her sleeves she headed out to see about this Colonel, something in her gut telling her that he was another good man.

---------------

Gibbs was leaning up against the wall facing the restroom door and he smiled when he saw the lighthearted look on her face as Leslie came out. He handed her a coffee and he asked, “What's so funny?”

She shook her head gently, “Nothing. Just thinking about my dad. Remind me to tell you about him some time.”

“How about over dinner later?”

“You know, I think I would really like that, Jethro.”

They went into the seating area and Leslie said to Jack and Sam, “Colonel O'Neill, Major Carter, I would like to apologize. And without making excuses, this strike has been very difficult on all of us in my department, and I've been handling the worst cases personally. But it doesn't forgive my behavior and I'm sorry.”

Jack spoke up, “First off, it's Jack. Second, I'm the one that needs to apologize. My mouth works faster than my brain sometimes.”

“How about we call it even and just chalk it up to a bad day all around?”

“Works for me.”

They all sat down and Leslie gave them a little more detail about Jackie's condition, but she couldn't release the specifics. They were not relatives. Jack was getting more and more frustrated. He understood where she was coming from, and that it could cost her her job and her license if she divulged the information. But he had had enough. “Leslie, may I speak to you privately for a minute?”

“Um, sure. We can borrow the nurses break room.”

The two of them left, leaving the others to talk among themselves. Jack's actions nailed Gibbs suspicions and when Gibbs met Sam's eyes, she gave him a knowing little look that confirmed it.

---------------

In the break room Leslie didn't hesitate to start, “Jack, look, I would tell you if I could. Honest.”

Jack slipped a packet of papers out of his jacket pocket, and blurted out, “We were lovers.”

That stopped Leslie in her tracks, “Excuse me?”

Jack let out a big breath, “Daniel and I were more than just teammates, Leslie, we were lovers. And we were together almost four years before he went MIA. If we could have gone somewhere and gotten married we would have. But we couldn't because of my position. We were a family though, and there are a whole lot of folks back in Colorado that consider themselves part of that family. And you can be damn sure that if either Daniel or I or anyone else in our “family” had known about Jackie that she wouldn't have spent another second in that hell hole.”

Leslie softened her tone, she could see the pain in Jack's eyes and knew he wasn't lying about their relationship, “Jack, I can't imagine how hard on you this all must be. But legally I can't tell you anything. I'm not even supposed to let you see her, but I will. I just can't give you the private medical information.”

He handed her the papers he was holding, “This is something we had drawn up three years ago, Daniel called it our “Life Contract”. It basically tries to protect us legally as if we had been married. There is a section specifically about children in there giving full parental rights to any children either of us may have had to the surviving partner. It should cover any legal issues.”

Leslie flipped through the thick packet, it was an extremely thorough document. She quickly read and re-read the section on children, then looked at the signatures and dates on the last few pages, the men had gone through the bother of having it the signatures and dates amended every six months to show that it was still in force. She had worked with some same-sex couples in the past that could have benefited from having such a contract. She decided to accept it at face value. She wasn't handing the child over to them, just providing information. The contract would still have to pass a judge's scrutiny before custody would be granted.

Leslie sighed and looked up to meet Jack's expectant eyes, “I'll need a copy of this for my case file.”

Jack nodded, not concerned, the contract was drawn up without any references to the actual nature of their relationship.

“Do you want Sam to be privy to the information as well? Or would you rather we discuss her condition here?”

“That family thing I was talking about? Sam's a big part of it. You can think of her as Daniel's sister. Anything you can tell me, you can tell her. And to answer your next question, yes, she knows about us.”

“Okay, let's head back out. As part of the investigation, NCIS is already aware of what I'm going to tell you.”

---------------

They made their way back out to the seating area where the others were waiting. Gibbs gave Leslie a little questioning eyebrow and she just gave him a little wink in reply, letting him know that everything went okay.

They were all quiet as Leslie gave them all the information she had from the doctor's about Jackie's condition and showed them the photos from the apartment and the dirty room where Jackie had been living. When she was done, a painful quiet had overtaken the seating area. The idea that someone would put their filthy hands on Daniel's child made Jack's blood boil. Sam had just slapped her hand over her mouth and was trying not to cry, although her eyes were welling with tears. Tony was sitting next to her and he didn't even think about it or hesitate, he just put his hand on her back and rubbed gently.

Jack was trying to keep his emotions under control, but he needed a minute to do that and he got up and went to stand alone by the window, gripping the sill so tightly his knuckles were white.

Leslie quietly put the file and pictures away in her briefcase. This was not her first time telling people about the horrific things that had been done to a child and she wasn't immune by any means, but kept her emotions under control. When she looked up, she meet Gibbs' gaze and his eyes were full of sadness and compassion.

They were all so wrapped up in their own emotions that none of them immediately noticed little Jackie until she tugged on the leg of Jack's jeans and said, “Jaaaack.”

---------------

Jack was deep in a fantasy about sticking a block of C4 where the sun doesn't shine on the sick freak that had touched Jackie when he felt something tugging on his pant leg. He looked down into a pair of blue eyes that he would have known anywhere and he heard his name singsonged in a painfully familiar way just before she threw her arms in the air asking to be picked up.

---------------

The others all took in the sight of Jackie standing there wearing Tony's shirt like an enormous floppy bathrobe over her hospital pajamas, hanging on to one ear of her bunny as she held her arms up, waiting for Jack to pick her up.

Tony was the first to say anything, “She talked.”

Sam whispered in to her hand, “Oh my god, she's so tiny.”

Gibbs just watched as Jack bent down on one knee and Jackie latched onto him. When Jack stood up with the child in his arms, Gibbs saw her whisper something to Jack that made Jack's eyes go a little wild for a second.

Leslie was concerned, how on earth did Jackie know Jack's name?

What none of them heard Jackie whisper to Jack was, “Daddy said you would come.”

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tbc...